Expectation vs Reality

I was going through my school yearbook, where I came across this chubby face girl’s picture by the name of Shalini Pinto. I remember her as this girl who was crazy for animals and who would also take care of the street dogs and make sure they got adopted.

I recall a day where she was brutally scolded for kissing a dog on the street out of love. She ended up getting a lot of rashes on her face and an injection for her infection too.

Now, after all these years I really got curious, which made me wonder what she might be up to these days. So I quickly checked her LinkedIn Profile. To my surprise, she was not the same chubby girl back in school. She was this tall, beautiful, smart looking professional, who had got many awards for rescuing animals from the illegal trade business.

I knew I hadn’t spoken to her since school ended, but something about her made me feel like reconnecting with her. So I messaged her on LinkedIn, waiting for her reply. It did take her a week to reply, and after hours and hours of chatting we exchanged our contact info and decided to meet for coffee.

I was waiting for her at the coffee shop, and like five minutes later she shows up. It was so warm to meet her after so many years and she hadn’t changed at all. Soon, we began discussing about everything we went through starting with boyfriends, family and also our careers. She showed me all the pictures of the places she has been to and all her cute little pets she owned.

There was this one pet which freaked me out, a pet snake!!!

Me:- OMG, Shalini, why would you have a snake as your pet?

Shalini: - It’s not just any snake, it’s a python, I rescued from an illegal trade business last year and has been one of my favorite pets.

Me:- But, aren’t pythons supposed to be poisonous??

Shalini:- Yes,  I know they are poisonous silly!! But I had to rescue the poor thing. It was severy injured and bleeding. I had to do something.  Aren’t you glad he is safe now with me?

Me:- I understand that you are concerned about your snake and want him to be safe, but keeping a snake as your pet is not the ideal thing to do. What if it escapes and bites someone by accident?

Shalini:- I know and I have kept extra precautions for everyone’s safety. I have kept him in a glass chamber big enough for him to move around, in the basement to which only I have access to.

I finally gave up explaining this to Shalini. She too had expected it to be difficult to manage but the snake proved her wrong and was very friendly.

I was also stumped by how Shalini had rescued the poor snake. Once, she and her team were called by the forest department, to rescue the snake from jungles of Aarey forest area who was supposed to be sold for an illegal trade business for a leather brand in China.

The villagers nearby the forest were freaking out because they had never seen such a big snake around. Also, it had entered a hut to protect itself from the villagers killing him.

As Shalini was an expert in Animal rescue, she knew exactly what to do. As soon as she arrived at the location, the first thing she did was explain what the snake was doing there in the first place and calm them down. It was important for her to explain  that the villagers had to learn to co-exist with dangerous animals and killing them was not an option. She and her team then set a perimeter and rescue the animal with the Pipe and Bag method.

Shalini treats each of the hundreds of rescue calls she receives, as an opportunity to educate people. It is because of her presence that people now know that a conflict situation with animals will be resolved. This resulted in calling her directly instead of the forest department rather than killing the animal. There was a family who had killed 10 king cobras so far are now proud to say that now they live amongst it.

Till now, rescuers didn’t have a role model to follow. Shalini has featured in many tutorial videos for rescuers and since then several rescuers have mended their ways and rescued animals that is safe for everyone.

She also is the founder of her organization, where she and her team of 10 rescuers, rescue animals all over the world. Their mission is to save and rescue is to study and rescue wildlife through applied ecological research and educational outreach programs.

She has collaborated with rescuers all over the world , where she could inculcate values among young minds and educate them about the ecosystem and the wildlife. Moreover, she has rescued hundreds of exotic endangered species from various locations such as the Amazon , Thailand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and various parts of India.

She has instant connection with animals, no matter which species. So, when she rescued the snake from Aarey forest area, she deep down developed a soft corner for him as it was severely injured and crying for help.

She immediately took a decision to take care of the snake and brought him home. It had been a part of her life since 3 years. She now treats him like a family member and they also celebrate his birthday every year. Isn’t that strange?

They take him for camping trips where he could freely roam around and be in its natural habitat. Also sometimes, he enjoys a nice dip in the swimming pool, especially during the summers. It’s a really good lesson for the ones who think people can’t co-exist with dangerous animals and here is Shalini who is living with one.

She is also planning to move the snake with her in her new house , once she gets married. I wonder how her husband approves of this, but thankfully he is also a Animal rescuer, just like her. I guess this just works out for everyone. All’s Well That Ends Well.